Port Victoria P.V.5

The Port Victoria P.V.5 was a British single-engined floatplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. It was designed to an Admiralty specification demanding a speed of 85 kn (157 km/h; 98 mph) at 6,500 ft (2,000 m), an endurance of four hours and an armament of a single machine gun and two 65 lb (30 kg) bombs. The use of a 150 hp (110 kW) Smith Static radial engine as powerplant was requested.

The Port Victoria Marine Experimental Aircraft Depot prepared two designs to meet the requirement. One, the Port Victoria P.V.5, was a development of its earlier P.V.2 sesquiplane, while the P.V.5A differed in having a more conventional biplane wing.

The Smith Static radial engine was a failure and a 150 hp Hispano-Suiza 8 V8 engine was used instead. The P.V.5 flew in  July 1917, but capsized while landing after its first flight due to a faulty float.  The P.V.5A flew in 1918 fitted with a 200 hp Hispano-Suiza.

No production followed, with the fighter requirements of the Royal Naval Air Service already being met by landplanes such as the Sopwith Pup and Camel.

Port Victoria Marine Experimental Aircraft Depot

The British Royal Naval Air Service established an R.N. Aeroplane Repair Depot on the Isle of Grain on the River Medway Estuary in Kent in early 1915. As there was already a RNAS seaplane base on the Isle of Grain, the Depot was named Port Victoria, after the nearby railway station. It became the Marine Aircraft Experimental Depot.

It was renamed Marine and Armament Experimental Establishment on 16 March 1920 in recognition of the fact that weapons and other equipment were evaluated as well as complete aircraft. It was renamed again on 1 March 1924 to the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment and eventually moved to Felixstowe.